Basketball

Amid the 2019-20 NBA/WNBA season, the ‘Nike Game Growers’ initiative saw the sportswear giant work with the league to close the basketball participation gap for girls.

Between 2018 and 2020, Walt Disney World activated its Orlando Magic jersey patch partnership through a free jersey promotion aimed at boosting sales of Disney Park Passes among the fan base.

To leverage its sponsorship of the 2019 Fiba Basketball World Cup in China, Aeroflot activated its status as presenting partner of the FIBA Basketball World Cup Trophy Tour via a multi-strand campaign that included a collective video, app, social, pop-ups and a ticket contest.

To promote its new personalised delivery service, US used car retailer CarMax penned a partnership with the NBPA for an autumn/winter campaign led by a series of TV ads, social spots and surprise stunts.

This mobile first, GIF-led campaign leveraged the 2020 All-Star Weekend through a collection of Joel Embiid GIFs and encouraged fans to celebrate the three-day event via Giphy.

Rakuten House was a branded space erected in Chicago to leverage the ecommerce brand’s rights around the 2020 All-Star Weekend.

In July 2019, Nike leveraged its NBA supplier partnership and its endorser deal with Giannis Antetokounmpo to celebrate the player’s MVP award and promote the launch of his first signature shoe.

To promote the non-skid technology in its EcoSport SUV, Ford leveraged its sponsorship of Brazilian top-tier basketball by removing the sounds of sneakers squeaking on the court.

In February 2020, Hennessy leveraged its new status as the official spirit of the NBA with an integrated campaign launched to coincide with the NBA All-Star Weekend.

Nike and the Minnesota Timberwolves set new records for NBA social, web traffic, jersey sales and engagement statistics with the 2018-19 reveal campaign for the team’s Prince-inspired Nike ‘City Threads’ kit.

November 2019 saw Budweiser celebrate the extension of its NBA official beer partnership with a responsible drinking campaign fronted by LA Lakers star Danny Green.

NBA sponsor American Express created an award-winning campaign during the 2018-19 season by allowing Amex members to swap their jersey for free if their favourite player switched clubs.

The NBA’s central sponsorship portfolio is worth approximately $600m (€533m) in 2019-20, SportBusiness Sponsorship has found, of which about 60 per cent is marketing fees and the remainder is licensing royalties.

To leverage its endorsement of Kawhi Leonard during the Toronta Raptor’s journey to the 2019 NBA Finals, league footwear sponsor New Balance ran a digital outdoor campaign in Toronto and San

The NBA teamed up with independent music distributor UnitedMasters to use the league’s 1.6bn fanbase as a source of new music discovery.